1. Field of the Invention
This application is based upon and claims the benefit of the priority of Japanese patent application No. 2009-277223, filed on Dec. 7, 2009, the disclosure of which is incorporated herein in its entirety by reference thereto.
The present invention relates to an oil or fat composition to be used for food such as rice.
2. Background of the Invention
Sterol is a collective term for steroids each having a hydroxy group at 3-position, which are contained in plants and animals. Typical examples of animal sterols are cholesterols. Plant sterols are classified into 4-desmethylsterols having 28 or 29 carbon atoms, such as β-sitosterol, stigmasterol, and campesterol, and into tetracyclic triterpene alcohols having 30 or 31 carbon atoms, such as cycloartenol, 24-methylene cycloartanol, and cyclobranol. In those plant sterols, the 4-desmethylsterols are known to have a cholesterol-lowering action and the like (JP-A-2001-224309).
On the other hand, the tetracyclic triterpene alcohols are known to be contained in a rice bran oil and the like, and are known to have a cholesterol-lowering action and a lipid absorption-inhibiting action (Arteriosclerosis, Vol. 13, No. 2, June (1985), 273-278, and JP-A-2001-224309).
However, those tetracyclic triterpene alcohols have a drawback in that the tetracyclic triterpene alcohols precipitate as crystals at room temperature, and hence a large amount of the tetracyclic triterpene alcohols cannot be contained in an oil or fat in a dissolved state. Thus, there is known a technology that involves dissolving tetracyclic triterpene alcohols in an edible oil or fat by combined use of oryzanols and phytosterols (JP-A-2006-257064).
In order to efficiently obtain the physiological actions of those tetracyclic triterpene alcohols, the tetracyclic triterpene alcohols are preferably ingestible without any effort at the time of routine diets, rather than the tetracyclic triterpene alcohols are ingested in the form of a capsule, a tablet, or the like. For that purpose, it is efficient to contain the tetracyclic triterpene alcohols in foodstuffs that are ingested daily, and it is most preferred that the tetracyclic triterpene alcohols be contained in staple foods such as rice and bread. According to such requirements, there is known cooked rice obtained by boiling raw rice with corn oil having added thereto plant sterols (JP-A-2003-310183).
[Patent Document 1] JP-A-2001-224309
[Patent Document 2] JP-A-2006-257064
[Patent Document 3] JP-A-2003-310183
[Non-Patent Document 1] Arteriosclerosis, Vol. 13, No. 2, June (1985), 273-278